I love to paint but hate cleaning brushes, rollers and trays until the job’s done.
Here are a few tips to minimize the clean-up time associated with painting.
- Slip your roller tray into a plastic garbage bag before you pour the paint in. When you’re done, pull out the tray, turn the bag inside out and use it to collect all the painting mess…and your tray is ready to use again.
- You don’t have to clean brushes and rollers between coats or when you stop for the day — wrap them in a plastic bag or plastic wrap to keep the air out. They’ll keep for up to a few days and be ready to go whenever you are. Keep in mind Latex paints will keep a bit longer than Alkyd – based paints.
- Put the roller tray (and roller) in a plastic garbage bag, twist the end closed and tuck it underneath. Leave enough air in the bag to keep it from settling into the paint. Pull it out when you need it again and you’re instantly back to work.
- Decant the paint you’ll need for the brushwork into an appropriate size plastic margarine tub, or yogurt container as required. It’s easier to hold while you’re cutting in and you can just pop the lid on between coats. Mark the colour and finish (ie. “Mudroom yellow — eggshell — March 2011”) on both the lid and the container for later reference. Keep it even after the job’s done, for convenient touch- up later.
- Have a brush and container of paint for each type or colour of paint that you’re using. You can easily switch between colours when you need to — bag one brush, put the lid on the container, grab the other brush and container and keep going.
Photo: miniozzy